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Dark, deep, silent water. Under the surface a strange peace consumed Christie. To sink to the bottom was not such a bad thing, where the warm arms of the ocean would carry her to a restful seabed. There she would sleep. So weary, every bone and muscle ached and her mind demanded sleep. Bubbles ascended. Just another moment of rest.
Randall. Fire filled her lungs. Her heartbeat exploded in her ears and she kicked herself upward. There was a bright light above and she reached for the surface.
With a gasp, she found the night sky and oxygen. Jasmine Sea was behind her, the flare slowly dropping toward the sea. Paddling, she checked the collar was still under her top as she got her bearings.
There was Martin’s house, the outside light like a star in the distance. To its right were more lights, moving around on the opposite cliff. In between was the beach and just ahead she saw Randall.
Christie swam after him. Endless lessons in a pool as a child taught her little about the ocean, but over these last few months Martin had insisted she swim with him often. He wasn’t one for fears and had continually prompted her to challenge hers.
She’d never swum in deep water. Not like this where the smallest mistake would claim her life, as it almost had just done when she jumped in. Exhaustion was her enemy, every bit as much as the terror somehow shelved to deal with later. It was there in the back of her mind, taunting her with images of unseen monsters, but she swapped it for a picture of Randall, back on the sofa, head on her lap.
Christie caught Randall in a few minutes. She got ahead of him and paddled again as she pulled the collar out of her top. She only had to get it around his neck and clipped, then inflate the ring.
Once he was within arm’s length, Christie held the collar open. She got it under his throat but of course he kept swimming and she couldn’t connect it without pulling him under the water. The collar dropped off and she dived after it. This was his only hope. Fishing it out, she swam after him and, this time, turned onto her side, matching his slower paddle.
She tossed one end of the collar over his neck and reached under his throat. She sucked in a big gulp of air and sank below the surface, kicking hard, her arms fully extended to click one part into the other. She felt it connect and let go.
Randall kept swimming in the straight line he’d followed since jumping overboard. It wasn’t over yet. Her eyes stung from the sea water. She had to inflate the collar. Head down, she urged her body on.
***
For Trev, the most satisfying moment of this whole day so far had been arresting Derek Hobbs. The man gave up once Jacqui and Gareth beat Trev to him. Soaked through, covered in sand, and complaining of a terrible injury to his foot caused by Martin, there was little mercy from the three police officers. As they stood on the edge of the cliff reading him his rights, Derek stared out to sea. Beneath the flare, Jasmine Sea was almost on her side, masts at a precarious angle.
“Is this what you wanted?” Trev demanded.
“I gave her that painting. It looks a bit like this moment.”
“What this looks like is murder, if she doesn’t survive!” Trev yelled in Derek’s face, wanting to push him off the cliff. “What kind of man does this?”
“Sir, I’ve got him.” Jacqui tugged at Derek.
“I love her, you know.”
Before Trev could follow through with his wishes, Jacqui dragged Derek to her car. Gareth answered a call from dispatch. “Sir, Coast Guard’s minutes away.”
“I dunno if that will be fast enough.” Despair clouded his voice. “Get Hobbs locked up and come back here. I’m going to the jetty.”
Trev could hardly believe his eyes as he ran along the beach. People milled around on the high ground near a collapsible table. Further toward the jetty, John and Dave pumped up an inflatable boat, whilst others helped Barry set up portable floodlights facing the table and the jetty. My God, the whole town is here! He wanted to hug each and every one of them.
Elizabeth and Daphne built piles of towels and blankets. Angus lined up bottles of water and Sylvia unpacked a basket of flasks and cups. On the ground was a large first aid kit.
The inflatable was ready. Trev unclipped his belt. “No, mate. You’re needed here.” Barry kicked his shoes off. “This lot are out of control.” He gestured to the table with a grin. “Can’t be too careful once you let Sylvia and Daphne loose together.”
“Alright. But take care.”
With a nod, Barry ran down to the inflatable. John tossed him a life jacket and trudged up to the table to help. A moment later, Barry and Dave dragged the boat to the tideline. Lit up by the portable floodlights, the waves were translucent. Barry called out. “Might pay to get one of the lights on the jetty. Make searching a bit easier.”
Trev waved in acknowledgement. The group stopped what they were doing as the inflatable slid into the water. Barry and Dave climbed in and began to row and in a minute, they were almost out of sight. Angus took a few steps forward, his face pale and eyes haunted.
***
By the time Christie caught up with Randall, he was spent. His head was low, jaw dipping into the water. He barely made forward progress. She searched the collar for the self-inflating cord. Everything was saturated, clinging to dog hair, and only the small knob on the end of the cord told Christie that she’d found it.
She tugged. Like a miracle, the collar inflated and a light began to flash. Randall whined in surprise.
“Hey, you can stop.” Christie reached under the water to his legs and started stroking them. “Rest, doggie.” Whether he was too tired to continue, or somehow understood, Randall relaxed. The collar kept his head high above the water. They drifted for a moment, then he started swimming again. In seconds he was out of sight, just the steady flash pinpointing his progress. The flare above faded and blackness descended.
He’s safe. Utter relief swept through Christie. He wouldn’t drown and even if he didn’t make it back to shore, someone would find him. There were lights along the beach. People were searching and he’d be okay. But she had nothing left. Randall’s safe.
She rolled onto her back and floated. Clouds scuttled across the sky, thinning and vanishing before her eyes. Clusters of stars sparkled.
“They watch over us.” Her mother had loved the night sky and could name every constellation. Sprawled on their backs on the small patch of green grass Rebecca had nurtured with dregs of grey water, they’d spent many evenings staring at the wondrous display above.
“There is Centaurus, and that one, see it, Christie? Like a cross? That is the Southern Cross and it’s also on our flag.” Mum knew everything. “But do you know which ones I like best?”
The waves rocked Christie like a baby in a cradle. She was so comfortable, so warm. Just like the endless days playing in the red sand of the outback town with Mum and Daddy never far away.
“Christie. I love Carina because it is like the keel of a boat. I know you’ve never seen a yacht for real, but one day we’ll go and sail on one.”
“What does sail mean?”
“Beautiful yachts have giant curtains of canvas called sails and the wind fills them and before you know it, you’re flying just above the waves.” Rebecca had pointed to a squarish constellation. “Those stars there are part of Vela, which kind of means sails.”
Vela. Christie smiled, reaching for the pendant around her neck. Her eyes fluttered closed.
“Christie, watch the stars.”
It was too hard to do. She was ready now to sleep and drift away.
“Martin needs you. Don’t you dare leave him! You promised you’d never leave him. Wake up, Christie!”
Her eyes flew open. Mum wasn’t here. Martin wasn’t here either and Derek was going to kill him.
Arms and legs as heavy as the anchor she’d cut from Jasmine Sea, Christie turned over and paddled.
“Christie!”
Stop it, Mum. I’m awake. A ridiculous desire to giggle got sea water into her mouth and she spluttered.
“Sweetheart!”
Too afraid to believe, Christie stopped paddling. It was another hallucination. The man she loved beyond life itself was swimming toward her. He looked so real, almost close enough to touch, and then...
“I’ve got you.” Martin lifted her hands to go behind his neck. “Hold on, we’re going home.” He kicked backwards and Christie laced her fingers together. She slid onto his torso. “You’re real.”
***
Excitement rippled through the group on the beach as the inflatable loomed out of the darkness. Two of Barry’s team waded out to help bring it in, but instead, they lifted something up and it pushed back into the waves. The young men staggered onto the beach under the weight of Randall. Trev rushed to help, taking the limp dog in his arms.
“Help me!” He lowered Randall onto the sand. “I don’t know if he’s breathing.”
Angus sank to his knees beside them. “Let’s get this collar off first. He’s breathing, but whatever was he doing out there?”
“God knows. We need a vet.”
“Will a doctor do?”
Trev and Angus looked up in surprise as Charlotte ran toward them. She threw off a backpack. “Find me a stethoscope in there,” she directed Trev as she checked Randall’s airways.
Trev unzipped the backpack and pulled out a doctor’s bag. Inside he found the stethoscope. “Um, here.” He offered it to Charlotte.
“Can you turn him so his head is facing down? In case there’s sea water.”
“Sure—”
“Shh.” Charlotte listened to Randall’s heartbeat. Trev stared at her. After a moment she glanced up. “Okay, turn him. He’s actually conscious but exhausted. Hey dude, are you okay?” Her voice softened as she lowered her face to look in Randall’s eyes. There was the barest flicker of a wag from his tail.
“You’re a doctor?” Trev adjusted Randall as instructed.
“Sorry. I should have been a vet.”
“No. I didn’t mean that. It’s great.”
“Oh, Randall.” George leaned down to touch Randall’s head. “No, Martin will be inconsolable.”
“He’s okay, George.”
“But, Trevor, he looks...”
Randall moaned and tried to sit up. “Steady on.” Charlotte supported his head. “Can we get him onto a blanket and start drying him? And some water for him.”
Angus watched as Trev lifted Randall and in a moment, he was alone. He gazed out to sea. Where are you? Where was Christie?